


Cats and cakes

by UltraKart



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, F/M, Ladynoir | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Marichat | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:14:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25679431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UltraKart/pseuds/UltraKart
Summary: Plagg wants a cheesecake. An identity reveal happens. Whoops.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 20
Kudos: 299
Collections: Miraculous Ladybug and Cat/Chat Noir Reveal





	1. This patrol is brought to you by Tom and Sabine's

**Author's Note:**

> My first attempt at a longer fic and my first post on AO3!  
> Gonna be moving a few things from Tumblr onto here.

Cheesecake.

For the past few days, Plagg had been bugging Adrien to get him a cheesecake. He also insisted on Chat Noir asking Ladybug for where to get a good one, for some reason.

Chat Noir mulled over his kwami's strange request as he sat with his back to a chimney on the designated rooftop, waiting for Ladybug to arrive for patrol.

_Plagg always says 'smellier is better', so why a cheesecake?_

He shrugged.

_Oh well, whatever makes him happy. The little guy deserves it._

He felt his cat ears twitch when Ladybug touched down beside him.

"Hey, someone's pretty early today," she greeted.  


As she knelt down to his level, Chat Noir could see her face shift into a concerned one.

"Did something happen today? Do you want to talk about it?" Ladybug asked gently.  


Right, of course. Chat Noir always showed up excessively early for patrol when he had a bad day. He sometimes used the opportunity to vent his frustrations before heading out. It was only natural that Ladybug would pick up on this habit of his.

This time, Chat Noir gave her a grin and shook his head to reassure her that things were okay.

"Nothing of the sort, milady. Actually, I showed up early because of a mission from Plagg."  


Ladybug tilted her head to the side.

 _That_ had her worrying again.

 _A 'mission'? I don't like the sound of that,_ she thought. _What could be so urgent that Plagg needs both Chat Noir and myself? Oh no, is_ Plagg _sick this time? I've never tried kwami healing yet-_

"He's suddenly craving cheesecake, and he wants to know from _you_ where to find one," Chat Noir continued.  


Ladybug's train of thought slammed on the breaks and she shifted backwards and into a proper seating position. Chat Noir offered her an awkward smile.

"Huh," Ladybug started. "I didn't know that cats eat cheesecake. And what happened to 'smellier is better'?"

Chat Noir rolled his eyes and stood up, offering his hand as she raised with him.

"Dunno, but I'm not complaining. I'll take any excuse to stop washing Camembert smell out of my hair three times a day."  


Ladybug giggled at his joke, wondering if he meant taking a shower or licking himself clean.

"So what say you?" Chat Noir prompted. "Plagg trusts your cheesecake-locating instincts."  


Ladybug giggled again, then licked her finger and stuck it in the air.

She pretended to think hard, then turned around and pointed in the direction she came from.

"My cheesecake instincts say... over in that direction! Tom and Sabine's."

Chat Noir's face lit up and his tail flicked in excitement at the mention of his friend's bakery.

"Wait, you go there too?" he said.  


Ladybug internally cringed. She had forgotten that Chat Noir was familiar with the bakery. And even more so familiar with the girl who lived there. Possibly familiar enough to figure out the link between herself and said baker girl.

Her eyes darted between Chat Noir and the bakery in the distance, her mind racing again to save herself from this possible blunder.

"Uh, yeah! I do." She gave him an exaggerated nod. "A friend got me some macaroons from there this one time and now Tikki is addicted to them. Not that I can blame her."  


Chat Noir said nothing, his gaze still fixed in the direction Ladybug had pointed earlier. His face had shifted into one of those rare soft smiles of his.

The look that Chat Noir had was different than the face of adoration that he usually gave to Ladybug. And usually the adoring looks were pointed right at her instead of at the rooftop of a bakery. Ladybug decided to think about it later and took his silence as a chance to steer the conversation completely away from anything that might give away her identity.

"Anyway, it's past closing time for them now. Let's get going?" said Ladybug as she pulled out her yoyo.

Chat Noir stood up straighter and shook his head.

"Y-yes. Let's."  


Patrol went uneventfully, not that either hero was complaining.

Chat Noir had a pleasant smile on his face during the entire night.

 _He must be really excited for that cheesecake,_ Ladybug thought to herself as she made the final swing towards home.

* * *

Adrien was too excited to properly sleep that night.

He was always thrilled to learn about something that he and Ladybug had in common.

_We're both fans of Tom and Sabine's! And... and..._

Adrien sat up to look at Plagg, who was curled into a little ball and asleep atop a wheel of Camembert on his desk.

_And judging by Plagg, a kwami can eat a LOT. So Ladybug must be a regular there too._

_Heh... that means Marinette runs into Ladybug all the time without even realizing it._ _Ladybug is the number one customer of our Everyday Ladybug... that's funny._

* * *

Adrien entered the _Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie _as the morning crowd started to filter in. Not to waste time and make himself wait in line, he quickly made his way to the fridge and snagged a boxed cheesecake.

There was nobody at the front counter yet, so Adrien allowed his mind to wander.

 _Ladybug is a regular here... I know I shouldn't be searching for her,_ he thought as he turned around and leaned an elbow on the counter.

_But a quick peek couldn't hurt, right? Right._

Adrien's head slowly turned as he scanned the crowd, left, right, and left again.

(His impression of the Terminator searching for Sarah Connor was exemplary)

By the time Marinette approached the front counter, Adrien was holding a staring contest with the macaroon display case.

"Hey there, stranger," she greeted.  


Adrien snapped out of his trance and spun around to face Marinette.

"Uh, hi!" he gave a little wave.  


"Hi."  


Marinette tilted her chin at the display case that Adrien had been staring down a moment ago.

"Thinking of getting some macaroons?" she offered.

Adrien shook his head.

"No, just this cheesecake for today."  


Marinette picked up the box and began to ring him up.

"Cheesecake isn't your usual order. Something special happening today?"  


Adrien shook his head again.

"Oh, the cheesecake isn't for me. It's for... a friend."  


"A friend?"  


"Well, more like a cat actually."  


Marinette paused as she lowered the cheesecake into a bag.

"You're feeding cheesecake to a _cat?_ "  


Adrien took a step back and his eyes started to flit about, looking at _anything_ besides Marinette.

"Y-yeah you see..." Adrien stammered. "I found a cat in a dumpster the other day. He was eating the remains of a cheesecake. Cute little guy! Black fur, cheesecake smeared all over his face... I decided to take care of him for a little while. And hey, if he craves cheesecake then why not give him what he wants?"

Adrien blinked.

Marinette blinked.

Then Marinette smacked her palm to her face and reeled back with laughter.

Adrien started laughing too, but only because it felt awkward not to.

" _Ohmygod_ you are so funny," Marinette finally said.

She lowered her palm onto the counter and looked Adrien straight in the eye.

" _Kitty._ "  



	2. Cheesecake interrogation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The immediate aftermath of the big reveal.

Adrien sat at his desk, rotating the boxed cheesecake over and over in his hands. For the better part of the past ten minutes, he'd been scrutinizing every square inch of the exterior of the box.

"Boo."  


" _GAH!_ "  


Adrien's legs involuntarily kicked out and he shot backwards in his office chair. The cheesecake tumbled out of Adrien's hands, but the offending cat god swooped down to catch it.

Adrien glared at his kwami.

"Plagg, I'm trying to focus here," he said as he scooted back towards his desk.  


Plagg rolled his eyes.

"Kid, what are you hoping to find by staring at the outside of the box?" Plagg prodded.  


"I don't know yet. But I'll know once I find it! Maybe it’s on the _inside_ of the box...?"  


Adrien held out a hand to take the box from Plagg, but Plagg floated out of Adrien's reach.

"I'll let you look at it again if you tell me why you're acting weird," Plagg said as he hovered directly above Adrien.  


Adrien let his arms drop and he slumped in his chair, causing it to spin slowly.

"You were taking a nap in my bag, so you didn't see what went down when I got in the bakery," Adrien sighed.  


* * *

He made Marinette laugh.

_He made Marinette laugh._

Adrien was secretly proud of himself for accomplishing such a feat. He wasn't sure why, but he found Marinette's laughter to be intoxicating.

She reminded him of Ladybug in that sense.

The way Ladybug would try and fail to hold back a snicker whenever Chat Noir's tail got stuck in a doorway, the way Marinette giggled when that old umbrella collapsed on her...

Adrien could _live off of_ the laughter that came from both those girls.

He paused his reminisce to glance at Plagg, who lifted the lid to the cheesecake that had miraculously stayed perfectly in shape despite nearly being dropped on the floor just now.

_Well, I could live off of their laughter, but I wouldn't say no to having some of that cheesecake too._

Adrien shook his head and tried to recall the rest of the events of that morning.

Marinette called him "kitty".

Adrien had to run a hand through his hair to check for cat ears, and he twisted his neck to look behind himself and spun around a few times in an attempt to find a tail.

 _Nope_ , he confirmed to himself. _I am not transformed right now._

Adrien looked back at Marinette.

Adrien blinked.

Marinette blinked.

Her smug expression evaporated and was replaced with shock when she realized what she had just said.

She weakly raised a finger and pointed at Adrien who grimaced.

"You're..." Marinette started, swallowed, then started again. "You're Cha-"  


"Very VERY grateful for this cheesecake!" Adrien interrupted before she could blurt out the name of his alter ego.  


He tugged his wallet out of his pocket, fished out whichever credit card he could grab first, then slapped it on the counter and bolted out the door.

_Nope nope nopenopenopeNOPE I did NOT just leak my biggest secret to a civilian nope. Marinette didn't even finish saying my name so I'm safe! She didn't figure out anything! I'm cool._

* * *

Adrien slumped further into his chair at the recollection.

 _I am so_ not _cool,_ he admitted to himself.

"Adrien?" Plagg paused eating the cheesecake and floated up to Adrien's face. The silence was uncomfortable to Plagg.  


Adrien gave Plagg a tired smile and used his thumb to wipe the cheesecake off of the little cat's face.

Adrien went through a few sentence starters in his mind, then gave up and decided to tell it straight.

"Marinette figured out who Chat Noir is because I bought a cheesecake."

Plagg paused his nuzzling into Adrien's thumb.

"You're kidding."  


"I wish I was."  


Plagg placed a paw on his face and approached the cheesecake.

"How did Pigtails figure that out..." he flailed his arms, "from _you!?_ " he gave his most intense glare at the offending cake.  


Adrien sat up in a proper seating position and matched his kwami's accusatory glare.

"That's what I've been trying to figure out!"  


The cake did not crumble under their collective gaze.

Plagg rubbed his face with both of his paws.

"Okay, let's calm down and think about this. Tell me everything that happened this morning."  


* * *

Marinette's customer service worksona left as soon as she shut the trapdoor to her bedroom. Her knees gave way and she collapsed onto her chaise lounge with a great _FLOMPH._

" _Tiiiikkiiiiiiiii_ ," she whined with her face pressed into a cushion.  


Tikki lifted herself up from Marinette's desk to press pause on the food vlog she had been watching on the computer.

She had only been half paying attention to the _Top 10 Bakeries in Paris Tour_ anyway. To be honest, Tikki didn't really trust this vlogger's credibility because the _Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie _wasn't on the list of "must try before you die" destinations.

Tikki said nothing, and Marinette felt the familiar sensation of a kwami sitting in her hair and stroking her scalp.

"Terrible customers today?" Tikki asked when she felt Marinette's breathing had sufficiently relaxed.  


"No." Marinette flopped onto her back. "Adrien is never a terrible customer."  


Marinette didn't say anything. Tikki waited, knowing not to rush Marinette if she wasn't in the mood to talk.

Marinette, still lying down, spread her arms out then smacked both palms onto her face.

"Adrien bought a cheesecake today," her voice came out in a muffle.  


Tikki tilted her head to the side, but said nothing.

"Last night at patrol? Chat said he was going to buy a cheesecake." Marinette sat up on her elbows.

"Yes...?" Tikki was growing with concern with what Marinette was about to say.  


" _Adrien_ is _Chat Noir_ ," Marinette said with hand gestures to emphasize every syllable.  


_Uh oh._

Tikki was always proud of Marinette's uncanny ability to connect the dots. That skill alone made her a skilled Ladybug even without the suit.

But this time Marinette's mind found its way into dangerous territory.

Knowledge can be a burden when there is a villain like Hawk Moth at large. Marinette had for the most part managed to stay under Hawk Moth's radar, but a shock like this one could put a blip on his map.

Tikki's silent pondering made Marinette worry.

"You're not going to tell me I'm wrong?"  


"No." Tikki shook her head and smiled at Marinette. "You guessed correctly. Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir."  


Marinette's shoulders relaxed, then tensed again.

"Are you sure you're okay with this? I broke Master Fu's _number one_ rule!"  


"Yes, I am." Tikki nodded slowly. "As much as I hate to admit, Master Fu is no longer here to guide you. You are the Guardian now, so you had to learn Chat Noir's identity sooner rather than later."  


"Yeah, but I still feel like I messed something up. Badly." Marinette looked past Tikki and directly at the ceiling.

 _Okay, maybe I should change tactics a little bit_ , Tikki thought.

"Didn't you always want to spend more time with Adrien?" Tikki grinned down at Marinette.  


_That_ got Marinette's full attention.

"Think of it, Marinette. Adrien is the one patrolling with you."  


"Adrien is the one patrolling with me..." Marinette sat up properly.  


"Adrien is the one fighting by your side."  


"Adrien is the one fighting by my side...!"  


"Yes!" Tikki clapped her little hands in front of her. "And Adrien goofs off with you during your downtime. He loves the game where you fling each other across Paris, right?"

"Oh god..." Marinette clenched her hands in her hair. " _I've been yeeting Adrien Agreste off the Eiffel Tower for fun._ "

Marinette closed her eyes, and an altered version of the ad for _Adrien, the Fragrance_ played in her mind.

_Radiant... Carefree..._

Chat Noir was walking on air above a rooftop.

_Dreamy..._

Ladybug appeared in the camera shot.

_Chat Noir, the Fragrance!_

Chat Noir stepped onto Ladybug's waiting hands, his legs extended, and she hurled him with all her might into the clouds.

Marinette laid back down on her chaise lounge, but this time with a pleasant smile on her face. She mentally pressed the _replay_ button and sat to watch the ad again.

 _Well, she appears to have cheered up,_ Tikki thought to herself, satisfied at having prevented a meltdown. The kwami relaxed and perched herself atop Marinette's stomach.

"Yeah... we're not totally out of hot water yet, are we," Marinette sighed. "I still need to figure out what to say to Chat Noir. How to tell him that I figured out his identity. And..."

Tikki looked up at Marinette.

Marinette turned her head to the side.

"I need to tell him that this entire time I've been turning down Adrien Agreste for Adrien Agreste."


	3. The cat came back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The after-aftermath of the Cheesecake Incident.

The cheesecake was mostly gone. What was left sat in Adrien's lap as he spun in his chair.

"Hey, Plagg?" Adrien's face only briefly faced the kwami in question as his chair continued to spin. "Why did you need me to ask Ladybug about cheesecake anyway?"  


"Oh, no reason," Plagg said to the back of Adrien's head. "I wanted the cheesecake right away, and I knew that you would drop everything and grab one ASAP if Ladybug gave you a suggestion."

Adrien frowned at that answer.

"That still doesn't explain how Marinette just instantly knew. What gave it away?"

Plagg knew the answer to that, of course. But he wasn't exactly at the liberty to divulge that information.

Adrien stood up to put the remaining cheesecake in his mini-fridge. He gave the box one last look over before shutting the door. He moved over to his bed, having decided that spinning in circles did nothing to help his train of thought.

"I'm not really worried about Marinette knowing. I trust her completely." Adrien shuffled to lean his back to the wall. "But what am I going to tell Ladybug? You saw how she reacted when Multimouse accidentally detransformed in front of me. Now Marinette knows _my_ secret identity too!"

Plagg landed on Adrien's knee.

"Ladybug has her reasons for doing things. But she'll never take away _your_ Miraculous. That's a fact!"  


"I know, I know." Adrien let out with a sigh. "But I'd hate to disappoint her."  


Plagg rolled his eyes, not that Adrien was looking.

"Believe me, kid. You bug her sometimes, but she's never _disappointed_ in you. She means it when she says the two of you are an unstoppable team. This little slip-up won't break that."  


Plagg offered one of his rare, reassuring grins.

Adrien let the concern ease from his face and smiled at the opposing wall, then he sat up straight with a new, determined look.

"You're absolutely right, Plagg. But before I say anything to Ladybug, I should talk to Marinette first! No use just sitting here and trying to figure out what she figured out." Adrien held up his fist. "Plagg?"  


"Yup, ready whenever you are," Plagg nodded.  


" _Claws out!_ "  


* * *

"Do I tell him the truth?" Marinette's head rolled to one side. "Or do I make a cover story...?" Her head rolled the other way.  


Tikki had been watching Marinette for a little while now, almost hypnotized by the motion of Marinette's head. Her own tiny head was mimicking Marinette's.

She didn't blame Marinette for her indecision. The Guardians were an elusive bunch. They insisted on introducing themselves to their champions only if absolutely necessary. Marinette was in a unique position; she met Chat Noir as a civilian long before being appointed as Guardian.

Being completely honest, Tikki never liked that particular rule. In lieu of the Guardians, the kwamis were typically the only mentor available to the heroes. Every kwami had millennia of experience to draw from, but they were unable to guide their wielders when transformed and in the heat of battle.

Also, the kwamis were powerless against the wielders that went rogue.

Tikki made up her mind.

"Marinette," she called out.  


"Yes?" Marinette sat up straight.  


"I think it's about time that Chat Noir knows everything."

"Wait... what? You really mean that?" Marinette said hopefully.  


"Yes, I really do. It goes against tradition, but..." Tikki trailed off.  


Marinette didn't need Tikki to finish that thought to understand what she wanted to happen.

"But I'm the Guardian here, and Chat deserves to learn as much as he wants to. I'm gonna make some new rules! Starting with not leaving a certain kitty-cat out of the loop all the time."

* * *

Nighttime came, but Marinette's mind was not ready to rest.

_Plans! Plans are what I'm good at. I need to plan for next time I run into Adrien. Or Chat? Am I gonna talk to him during lunch tomorrow or during patrol this weekend? No no, I don't want to drop something big like that over lunch. We need time to sit down and talk about this like adult- wait no, neither of us are adults yet. But patrol is like a whole week away and I don't want to make him wait that long..._

A familiar _thump thump_ from above jarred Marinette away from her thoughts.

 _Oh. That works too._ Marinette blinked up at her skylight.

Marinette looked over to the little nook on the shelf where Tikki was sleeping. Unless someone knew where to look, Tikki was out of sight. Good. She didn't want to give Chat Noir an immediate shock at the sight of the little kwami.

 _Okay, it's now or never._ Marinette breathed in.

"Chat? Come on in!" she called above her head.  


Chat Noir dropped down onto the bed with such grace that he barely wrinkled the sheets. He carefully made his way onto the floor.

"Hey, you haven't been here in forever. I was about to put up 'missing cat' posters." Marinette rubbed a finger to his chin.  


Chat Noir felt his eyes close as he leaned into her touch, but he changed his mind and took a step backwards. This visit was for business, not pleasure.

"Marinette, it's okay. You don't need to pretend." His face turned into a nervous grin.  


"Pretend what? I have a sketch of the poster right here." Marinette opened her sketchbook to an older drawing she did. The image of Chat Noir was staring bug-eyed out of the page, and his tongue stuck out in a _blep._  


The real Chat Noir let out a snort as he bent down to scrutinize the drawing. He turned his head to look at Marinette, who blinked innocently at him.

"Can you send me a copy of this later? It really does capture my essence." He did his best to mimic the expression on the page.  


Marinette giggled and placed her sketchbook atop her scanner, making a mental note to do that later.

There was a beat of silence before Chat Noir cleared his throat.

"Uh, anyway. I mean what I said, Marinette." He sucked in a breath. "You can stop pretending now. Earlier today, downstairs at the bakery? You figured who I am."  


"Yeah, I guess I did." Marinette folded her hands behind her back.  


"I'm not mad at you or anything! Promise! I mean, how could I get mad at our Everyday Ladybug?" Chat Noir leaned with a hand on the desk and one foot crossed over the other, and Marinette recognized the pose from a recent photo shoot that she was invited to watch.  


Marinette inwardly rolled her eyes, thinking back to all the other times that Chat Noir had inadvertently switched on "model mode" around her. She realized now that he wasn't just a dramatic cat; drama is his art and he was trained in its ways since young.

Chat Noir frowned, returning to the topic at hand. "But, like, what gave it away? How did you figure it out from a _cheesecake?_ "

Marinette leaned her weight on her heels, then on her toes, back and forth, as she thought.

_I could tell it to him straight... or I could mess with him a little more first. No harm in that, is there?_

Marinette held back a mischievous grin and put on her best poker face.

"Ladybug tells me things," Marinette finally said.  


"You mean... Ladybug visits you too?" Chat Noir's face and cat ears perked up.  


"Yeah. She sometimes shows up at weird hours of the night for macaroons. Not that I mind. She's pretty cool."  


Chat Noir let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding.

"You have _no_ idea how relieved I am to here that, actually. I was worried that Ladybug would be mad at you for the Kwamibuster incident."  


Marinette snorted.

"Don't worry about that." Marinette placed her hand on her chest and dramatically stuck out her elbow up high. "Ladybug could _never_ stay mad at _me._ "

"Anyway," Marinette continued. "Ladybug dropped by last night too. She told me that a certain cat was craving cheesecake." Marinette paused to think. "Oh, and that she wants a commission for repping our bakery."  


Chat Noir rolled his eyes.

"She brings so much stuff from the bakery on patrols that she deserves a special discount at this point."  


Marinette did her best to pull off Chat Noir's patented Soft Gaze™ and looked to the skylight.

"Yeah. She does. Ladybug is awesome to have around."  


Chat Noir's cat eyes widened at Marinette's response.

"You two are... close?"  


"Something like that." Marinette now moved to hold both of Chat Noir's hands in her own.

Chat Noir waited.

"She's here a lot of the time," Marinette continued.

Marinette looked up into Chat's eyes and gave him a knowing grin.

"You could say... she's here right now, too."  


"Mari...?"  


Marinette watched Chat Noir's face as the gears in his head turned.

He didn't seem to pick up on her meaning quite yet, so Marinette decided to give one final push.

She removed one hand and pointed up to her earlobe at the earrings that she never takes off, even in her sleep.

Marinette could see the moment it _clicked_ in Chat Noir's mind when he pulled back and gaped at her like a fish.

Several non-words came out of his mouth before he composed himself and cleared his throat.

"Milady?"  


Marinette's eyes were suddenly watering up, the weight of all the secrets she no longer has to keep finally dawning on her.

"Yes," she nodded. "I'm here."  


* * *

If one was looking in the direction of the _Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie_ that night, one would see a single light turned on in the top floor bedroom.

One would also see two silhouettes behind the closed curtain, one of them short with pigtails, and the other with cat ears and a round object protruding from the collar.

One would have seen the two silhouettes draw closer, then join together at the lips.

The two silhouettes lingered in that position, then separated. There was a pause. The shorter of the two reached up to grab the round object on the other's collar, and they pulled together again.

Love was in the shadows tonight.


End file.
